Water-gage



G. H. SARGENT. WATER GAGE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 4| i917. y

lll

Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE n. SARGENT, or crrrcaeo, rLLrNors,Ass1Gnon To SARGENT COMPANY, or

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

WATER-GAGE. Y

To ZZ whom t may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE H. SAneENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Gages, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to water gages and particularly to the type of inclosed water gages.

Since the advent of water glasses inclosed within a `protecting casing the q uestion of affording sufficient protection against breaking of the protecting means by the bursting of the water gage glass and at the same time permitting the replacing of broken gage glasses without impairing the protecting means, has been carefully considered and considerable difficulty has been experienced in securing suitable protectingl means to prevent the discharge of theflying glass and steam and which at the same time would afford suicient protection to the engineman by not breaking. Where the glass panels of thegage are made an integral part of the structure, difliculty has been experienced in replacing the protecting glass panels; while at the same time the removal of the whole gage from' the boiler has frequently been necessary, thereby incurring the expenditure of considerable time and labor.

, It is the object of my present invention to'improve gage vglasses of the general type referred to and to overcome the above mentioned objection thereto by the provision of a vremovable cover means over the glass panels at the same time affording a sufciently heavy casing to properly support the water glass and the portecting panels.

A further object is to provide a gage glass wherein replacement 'of the water glass, may be made without fracturing any of the component parts of said gage.

A still further object is to provide a novel water gage wherein means are provided for protection against flying glass and steam whenever the water yglass breaks, and the provision of suitable means for replacing the broken water glass, together with replacement of the broken protecting means. A still further object is to provide a water gage which will 'do away with the general objections to the type of gage wherein the water glass is ixedly secured.

These and other objects will be apparent Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led October 4, 1917. Serial No. 194,663.

from the following description and drawings, wherein Figure l is an elevation of the side of the preferred embodiment of my invention.

ig. 2 is a vertical sectional View through Figj l, and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. f

The usual water glass 5 is .suitably connected to the proper members of the boiler for indicating water level, the connections being well known, and hence are not shown in the drawings. The gage embodying my invention comprises a central body portion having preferably two oppositely disposed solid walls 47 and 8 and two side openings formed between 4these walls as is usual in this type of glass.` The central casing is provided with enlarged ends 9, yl0 havin internally threaded sockets, with which the boiler connections aresuitably made. `The side walls 7 and 8 are'formed preferably integral with thev topr and bottom ends 9 and l0 so as to provide a solid integral casting. The space between the walls Z and 8 is sufficient to receivea water glass and to allow a very slight clearance between the surface of the glass 5 and the surfaces of the walls 7 and 8. This is for the purpose of preventing thev particles of glass, etc., from gathering sufficient force when the glass is broken to break the protecting panels which are mounted over thesight openings. The width of t-he walls 7 and 8 is such as to permit a relatively small space between the periphery of the water glass and the inner surfaces of the glass panels which cover s aid openings.

For covering the sight openings, I'prefer to employ relatively thick glass panels 11, l2, substantially rectangular in cross section, the inner and outer surfaces of the panels being flat.V It was heretofore considered necessary in a gage of this type to employ as panels covering the sight openings, prisms or pieces of glass havingconveX outer surfaces as it was believed such surfaces magnified the top of the water column and made the reading of the glass much easier. However, it has been found that convex prisms are unnecessary yas `by the employment of a circular water glass the ktop of the'water column is very readily ascertained because of the fact that there is a difference in the Y by referring toFig.4 1.

or the column as may readily be observed l The widthof the water glass in which` there is water appears much wider than that which is empty, thus making-'the dividing line very distinct, apparent and ascertainable at a glance. Therelore, as the 'convex protecting plates were Vround unnecessary the provision of substantially rectangular panels is preferable because such areA cheaper to make andv easier to apply and retain in position.V To afford proper'seats for the. glasspanels and also to make a tight joint 1 employ packing material 13 suitably mounted on the walls 'Z' and 8, about the sight openings and adapted to contact with the glass panels 11 and 12. For lsecuring the panelsv to V`make a water and steam tight joint it is necessary that the'panels be held very firmly in position. To accomplish thisfIvprovide4 a pair ot metallic castings or side members 14, 15,

which are channeled so as to provide shoulders 16 which overlie the cuter edges of the glass panels; fthe channels being preferably of a' depth; slightly greater thanthe thickness or `the panels 11 andk 12 so'as to also accommodate`the packing materialv 13 yas well as similar packingl? 'which is inserted between. the edges ofthe glass panels and the side orcover members 14, 15. i The ends of the channels formed in the sideV members 14 and 15 extend full length vof thef members and therefore are open at the top and Vbottom s o that the ends of the glass panels rest against thek overlapping enlarged ends 9,` 10, ofthe main body casing." It is not ,necessaryrthat the glass panels makeV an enact fit as to their lengthas the sight openings do not extend the lull Vlength of the members 14, 15, as indicatedby reference character 18.14 `For securing the cover members 14, 15, inpositionl I form integrally with theside walls 7 and 8, a series of bosses 19 provided with apertures therethrough. For registering' with these bosses therey are formed onthe members 14, 15, Corresponding ears 20 provided `with,registering apertures.

The apertures Ionk the cover member 15 are preferably threaded to receive the threaded ends of bolts y21 passing through the ears 20 inthe cover member 14 and the bosses 19 andthe corresponding ears 20 in the lcover 15.` fThe covers 14,. 15,may be firmly Vclamped in position Vby moving the bolts 21Y so that a tight lit Vis securedf In such agageprovision of the .relatively thick glasspanels 11, 12, and therigid heavy 'construction oftheV central casing permits thebrealring ofthe waterv glass 5 and prevents tliebroken glass, steam and hot water vfrom escaping-trom the interior of the water gage. Furthermore, if either or both of the panels 11, andf12 be broken for any reason, `they may be easily replaced by removing the co'vermembjer 14 and 15 which is a matter 11 and 12 of but a few moments work. As the whole. device is a sell contained one, it ,may be readily removed from the boiler connections in a rew minutes which removal is sometimes desirable when a boiler is out of commission or being repaired.

For making a tight lit between the boiler connections and the-water glass I prefer to employ the novel arrangement disclosed in my co-pending application Serial` No. 174,684, which comprises a washer 22 composedot resilient material such as rubber. @n the outer surfaces of the washer 22 I prefer to employ gasketsof asbestos or of similar material and provided with lead inserts. The asbestos may be compressed to a great extent without being destroyed, thus serving as a very satisfactory'covering for the rubber washer 22, as when `the bushings 24 Iare screwed lirmly into place the washer 22 is compressed so that the surfaces or the annularvportionbear tightly against the surfaces of the water glass making a tight joint therebetween. Atr the same time the gaskets'23 are compressed so that their innerA annular (portions, make a Vtight joint with-thefwater glass. The tight joint made by these gaskets prevents the flowing of the rubber ir it should become soheated by the steam andn waterin the water glass as tobe in a conditionto flow which condition results very frequently and hasheretofore beenroundvery objectionable. I may, however, employ any suitable resilient washer member in place ofthe one described inVv my co-pending application above cited. i

l .t will bje'observed that by the employ- .ment ofthe novel means herein disclosed I have provided a1 water gage wherein Vthe water glass maybe Vreadily replaced when broken wherein it is possibleV to preventflthe pieces or glass#flying` and steam from causing anyfharm to the engineman whenever `the'water glass breaks; and which structure Vis a rigid affair thatfwill withstand all'the shocks towhich a device' ot'this sortis subjected' and wlii h because or .the rigid construction is adaptable to all `sorts or service.

'I have also provided a water gage wherein the protecting panels are removably, `associated with the central casing in such manner as toprevent theescape of glassl particles and steam andvat the same time permit access to the interior or the gage.V And run ther, I have provided ,means for replacing it desirable, the yarious members. without detaching the wholeV gage from the boiler connections.V l

I do not desireto limit my invention to the exact form shownand described as I am aware that such devices are capable of modification and ,such ymodifications. 1I, consider soV as 'coming within the Vscope of my invention. Y Y

Iclaimz@A l A water gage, comprising afmetallic member of substantial thickness having an elongated slot disposed therethrough intermediate of its ends, the ends being provided with central openings communicating with the slot and having threaded sockets, the opposite sides of said member, intermediate of its ends, being formed with smooth bearing surfaces, a pair of corresponding metallic side members, slotted intermediate of their ends to an extent corresponding with a slot in the first member, adapted to extend flush with opposite sides and have bearing on the bearing surfaces of said rst member intermediate of the ends thereof, the inner sides of said pair of members being each formed with longitudinal channels on opposite sides and lengthwise of the slots therein, a relatively thick glass panel arranged with its longitudinal edges in the channels of each side member and disposed across the slots of said members, fibrous lining in said channels arranged on opposite sides of the glass panel, regulable means extending through all of said members whereby said side members are forced into abutting relation with the sides of the first member and the iibrous lining with the glass panels clamped therebetween in steam-tight relation to both sides of each glass panel, a water-glass extending lengthwise of the first member through the central openings in the ends thereof, and means whereby the waterglass is maintained in place in fluid-tight relation with the rst member.

Signed at Chicago, State of Illinois, this 2nd day of October, A. D., 1917.

- GEORGE H. SARGENT. 

